A New Start
by Herochick007
Summary: When Severus' wife, Lily, is killed by Death Eaters, he is left to raise his newborn son alone. Maybe moving somewhere new, starting a new job will change things. And why does his new Master's daughter hate him?


**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter**

**word count: 1429**

**Warning: canon character death.**

He didn't cry when she died. Didn't weep as the screaming infant was placed in his arms. All he felt was numb, a sense of nothingness, a sense of surrealism. What as he supposed to do now? She had been his everything since the day they'd met. They'd even joked how their last names nearly contained the same letters.

Now she was gone. He looked down at he small bundle in his harms. His and Lily's son. They'd been trying to decide on a name when they'd been attacked. Potter and his stupid little gang of thugs. Pure-bloods, the lot of them, pretending they were so much better than the Death Eaters. They were just as bigoted in their own ways. Now Lily, his Lily, had been caught in the crossfire. Tears stung at the backs of his eyes. No, crying was a sign of weakness. He needed to be strong for his son, for their son.

The day of Lily's funeral was the hardest. He held Harry in one arm, a bouquet of lilies in his other hand. He had found the name written in Lily's swirling handwriting at the top of a list of names she liked. It would not have been his first choice, but he felt it was the right one. It was a sunny day, it shouldn't have been. The sun seemed to mock him. He wished it would have been raining. Rain would have hidden his tears, instead he kept his face expressionless. A mask of numbness.

"Severus. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Lucius. This has to end, this war has to end."

"There will be many more causalities before it does. We both know that, Severus. Do you want revenge? Do you want to make them pay?"

"I do, but no, no more violence. No more innocents caught in the crossfire. Let Potter and his little friends fight this battle, Lucius. I'm going to take my son somewhere safe, maybe leave Britain altogether."

"You could join us, Severus. Revenge would be sweet, just image Potter under your control." Severus looked at the sleeping bundle in his arms. Harry stirred slightly.

"No. This ends now. There's a potion master named Gajrosik, in Poland, he'd willing to accept me as an apprentice, even with my son. He's even providing us lodging. You understand, don't you? You'd do anything to keep Draco safe, wouldn't you?" Lucius nodded slowly.

"That I would. I wish you luck Severus. Owl Cissy and I and let us know how things are going. We'll keep you updated on the news here. When do you leave?"

"Tuesday," Severus answered as Harry woke and started crying. Immediately he'd summoned a bottle and started feeding his son.

"Maybe Draco and Harry could start writing each other when they're older," Lucius mused as him and Severus walked from the cemetery.

"I'll keep that in mind. If I don't see you before we leave, good luck with this war, Lucius. May the right side win," Severus stated. He knew Lucius was vain enough to believe he was talking about the Dark. Lucius nodded at Severus as the two wizards parted ways.

"Here we are, Harry, home at last." The baby whimpered as Severus placed him in crib. It would be hard leaving, but he knew it would be harder to stay. Everything in the small house reminded him of Lily. Every slight sound, every smell, even the bedroom door creaking forced him to face the tears he kept refusing to cry.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Severus set the trunk down looking around.

"Mister Snape, right on time." He nodded following the speaker, a grey haired man wearing a set of deep blue robes.

"Master Gajrosik, thank you for accepting me." The Potion Master lead Severus and baby Harry to a large manor house. The house was divided by a large staircase. Master Gajrosik stopped at the stairs and nodded to the western side.

"Nothing of it, you've got the talent, you had the passion. Let's see if you still do. This will be your set of rooms for the foreseeable future. I've already had some furniture put in. There is a lab in the lower level." Severus nodded as Harry blinked his eyes open and glanced around.

"What do you think, Harry? This is going to be our new home." The baby didn't respond other than burrowing against his father.

"I'll leave you to get settled in. If you need anything, my daughter will be happy to help you. I don't employ house elves here." Severus nodded wondering briefly about the man's daughter. He'd never realized the Potion Master had a family.

Severus started to explore his set of rooms, there were about twelve in total. Why any one man would need that many bedrooms was beyond him. There was a small library which hosted a number of books, including, thankfully, some in English. He had already decided to try and learn Polish, Russian, Czech, and a number of other languages from the region.

"Let's get you settled in, Harry." Harry's nursery had already been set up thankfully. It was actually connected to Severus' chamber by a door. That way he could hear if his son woke during the night. Severus couldn't help but notice there were a couple plush animals on the dresser. He picked up one, a green snake.

"Look, Harry. It's just like the Slytherin house mascot, isn't it?" The baby blinked a few times. "And this one is a lion," he said picking up another one. For a second his face fell, remembering his lioness, his Lily.

"Oh, do you like them? I knew you were in Slytherin house at Hogwarts," a voice asked from the doorway. Severus looked over, Harry still in his arms. A young woman was standing there, leaning against the door frame. Her brown hair was pulled back in a blue bandana. She looked around his age. Her brown eyes seemed to be studying him, as if she wasn't sure if she liked him yet.

"You must be Master Gajrosik's daughter?"

"Hermione, yes, I am. And you are Severus Snape who's going to take my father's place someday." She snorted slightly as if doubting he could do just that.

" I do not plan on taking your father's place, Miss..."

"Granger, my surname is Granger. Don't ask."

"Very well, Miss Granger, as I was saying, I don't plan to take your father's place. I have my own career ambitions. This is merely a stepping stone in that direction." She blinked seeming to relax a little. She still didn't look particularly friendly though.

"Good. If you want to eat dinner with my father and I, it is served in the main dining room at seven. You have your own kitchen if you would prefer to dine alone... well, I guess not alone..." she said looking at baby Harry who had managed to focus his green eyes on her.

"Oh, right, Miss Granger, this is my son, Harry. Harry, this is Hermione Granger." Harry blinked watching Hermione.

"I've got to get back to work. Any questions before I leave, Mister Snape?"

"None I can think of at the moment. Thank you, Miss Granger."

"Good, see at dinner, maybe," she muttered before turning and leaving. Severus blinked down at his son.

"Well, she seems... interesting." Harry didn't respond, but instead yawned going back to sleep. Severus gently placed his son in his crib. He stayed with him a moment to make sure he didn't stir before walking into his own chamber and starting to unpack.

He wasn't sure what he thought of Miss Hermione Granger. She didn't seem to care much for him for some reason, did she really think he was there to replace her father? He thought about what he knew of Potion Master Gajrosik. The man was not quite a legend. He was extremely talented as a potioneer and had created several very important potions for wizardkind. Severus knew he had taught at Durmstrang at one point, and published several master level books on the subject. No, none of that appealed to him. Well, possibly teaching? His original plan, his and Lily's had been to open a shop.

Unpacking took longer than he'd anticipated and he looked up when he heard a clock chiming seven. He quickly checked on Harry, who was still asleep, for now. He debated waking the baby but decided against the action. Making sure the charm that would alert him to Harry waking was functional, he headed down towards the main dining room for dinner.


End file.
